by Squid

Staff

Thursday, May 24, 2001

The Goodness of His Heart

Squid''s super-slick sources have confirmed that none other than Nick Lombardo, lord of the golf course himself (he runs the links at Rancho Cañada and Laguna Seca), plans to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than he. Squid''s attachés, who heard it straight from the horse''s mouth, say Lombardo is contemplating building 200-300 affordable housing units on 120 acres he owns at the mouth of Carmel Valley adjacent to Rancho Cañada.

Lombardo, via his assistant, told Squid he doesn''t have anything to say about the project at this time, but he''ll be sure and give the Weekly a call when he does. It''s a shame you wouldn''t talk now, Nick. Here was Squid, all ready to gush about what a benevolent, charitable, all-around nice guy you were for doing such a sweet and selfless thing for the community.

But Mr. Lombardo''s sudden attack of shyness and modesty might give Squid time to figure out the question of the hour: What''s in it for him? Perhaps his greenskeepers are having a tough time finding pads in the local housing market from hell. Whatever the motivation, something tells Squid we''ll find out soon enough. Stay tuned...

A Bitter Disappointment

Squid was betting on a brawl at the city of Monterey Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night. The agenda looked like the city hall version of a fight card. Squid even packed water.

The main event: a permit hearing to expand Morgan''s Coffee and Tea on Washington. Money had it that café proprietor and city hall gadfly Morgan Christopher would go a few rounds. Christopher''s been waging a public dispute with city attorney Bill Conners and city code enforcers. Friction had been forecast.

But no dice. What had the makings of a civic set-to was postponed until June 12 because the planning office needed more material. No matter--next on the lineup was an application for the installation of a Starbucks on Cannery Row. Surely someone had to get riled up about Starbucks, right? Perhaps even Christopher himself, who campaigned vociferously against a Burger King on Alvarado a while back.

Starbucks showed up with a squad of five double-latte reps and a seemingly glitch-free application. But no one stood up against the Queen of Cappuccino. The commission took the staff''s recommendation to approve and the Starbucks people went back to San Francisco.

Squid didn''t even have to crack that water.

Happy Trails

It is with bitten nails and a heavy heart that Squid bids farewell to Weekly reporter Laurel Chesky. During her three-year tenure here, Chesky has shined the light and raked the muck with passion and dedication, never fearing hard work or discomfort--even after the patented antibacterial formula in Squid''s Odoreaters gave out and the office got a little stuffy. Chesky leaves to the Weekly her stained coffee mug, mysterious stacks of documents everywhere, and journalistic accolades that the paper is truly honored to receive: Last week Chesky learned that her story about the ghostwriting scandal at the county Planning Department ("Invisible, Inc," Dec. 14, 2000) earned her first (or second--they''ll tell her in August) prize in the California Newspaper Publisher Association''s Better Newspaper Contest. Chesky leaves to pursue even greater fame and fortune in the great Rocky Mountains, where she''ll no doubt charm and astound her new community just as she did this one. See ya, Laurel. Until we meet again.